Scottish Executive

Accountant in Bankruptcy

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many complaints have been received in each of the last five years regarding the Accountant in Bankruptcy.

Hugh Henry: I have asked Gillian Thompson, Chief Executive of the Accountant in Bankruptcy to respond. Her response is as follows:

  Records of complaints are collated by financial year. The numbers of complaints made against the Accountant in Bankruptcy in each of the last five completed financial years are as follows:

  

1999-2000
2000-01
2001-02
2002-03
2003-04


Nil
1
1
2
2

Antisocial Behaviour

Mr Brian Monteith (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what the spending stream "Antisocial Behaviour Initiatives" under the level 3 heading "Building Stronger, Safer Communities through Regeneration and Tackling Antisocial Behaviour" in Draft Budget 2005-06 will be used for.

Hugh Henry: Of the £60 million made available in 2004-05 and 2005-06, £50 million has been allocated to local authorities to fund community warden schemes, fill gaps in services for victims and witnesses of antisocial behaviour and other practical initiatives at local level, support the creation of proactive antisocial behaviour teams in local authorities, and to help them and their Community Planning Partner prepare local antisocial behaviour strategies. The balance has been earmarked for other purposes that will support the overall delivery of the antisocial behaviour strategy, including training, dissemination of good practice, piloting of new approaches and monitoring and evaluation.

  Decisions on the precise allocation of the £67.5 million available in 2006-07 and 2007-08 will be made shortly but, broadly speaking, this will be used to support the delivery of local antisocial behaviour strategies.

Central Heating Programme

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what action is being taken to increase the number of households being taken out of fuel poverty by energy efficiency measures.

Malcolm Chisholm: The Executive has devoted £55 million to the Warm Deal which has so far insulated over 200,000 homes, and £116 million to the central heating programme which has provided central heating systems to over 43,000 homes so far.

  All social sector houses where the householder wishes it will have central heating by the end of this year. The exception is Glasgow Housing Association where the programme is due for completion by the end of March 2007.

  We aim to ensure that by 2008 all pensioner households eligible for pension credit will meet the energy efficiency components of the Scottish Housing Quality Standard.

Central Heating Programme

Mr John Home Robertson (East Lothian) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many applications for the installation of central heating systems under its central heating programme have been unable to go ahead due to the refusal of consent from landlords and whether it will amend the terms of the programme to override any unreasonable obstruction to the installation of central heating by landlords.

Johann Lamont: Since the programme began in September 2001, seven applications for central heating have been unable to proceed due to the refusal of consent from landlords. In order to override their objection to tenants receiving the central heating programme, primary legislation would have to be created to alter landlords' property rights and currently there are no plans to do so.

Conservation

Mr Mark Ruskell (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Lewis Peatlands are classified as a Special Protection Area under the EU Directive on the Conservation of Wild Birds (79/409/EEC) and, if so, what the extent is of the site; what species of bird in the area are listed as the qualifying interest; how many of these species occur in the area and what proportions of national and international populations they represent, and whether the site is also a Site of Special Scientific Interest.

Lewis Macdonald: The Lewis Peatlands Special Protection Area (SPA) was classified under the European Council Directive on the Conservation of Wild Birds (79/409/EEC) on December 7 2000; the site encompasses an area of 58,984.23 hectares.

  The relevant international population by which the importance of any bird species on an SPA can be assessed is expressed in terms of the biogeographic population from which it is drawn or is a part of. A biogeographic population is a group of birds which breed in a particular location (or group of locations), breed freely within the group, and rarely breed or exchange individuals with other groups.

  The qualifying species are – black throated diver (11 pairs representing at least 6.9% of the GB breeding population and <0.1% of the biogeographical population), dunlin schinzii sub-species (3,650 pairs representing at least 33.2% of the breeding Baltic/GB/Ireland population), golden eagle (six pairs representing at least 1.5% of the GB breeding population and 0.1% of the biogeographical population), golden plover (1,978 pairs representing at least 8.8% of the GB breeding population and 0.4% of the biogeographical population), greenshank (152 pairs representing at least 0.3% of the breeding Europe/Western Africa population and 0.3% of the biogeographical population), merlin (20 pairs representing at least 1.5% of the GB breeding population and 0.2% of the biogeographical population) and red throated diver (60 pairs representing at least 6.4% of the GB breeding population and 0.8% of the biogeographical population).

  The whole of the Lewis Peatlands SPA is not underpinned by Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) notification. However, four SSSIs are contained within the SPA boundary. These are mainly notified for reasons other than the SPA interest and are:

  1. Achmore Bog SSSI (296.73ha. Notified for blanket bog).

  2. Loch Laxavat Ard & Loch Laxavat Iorach SSSI (267ha. Notified for woodland, open waters and breeding bird assemblage).

  3. Loch Nan Eilean Valley Bog SSSI (33.26ha. Notified for blanket bog and valley mire).

  4. Loch Scarrasdale Valley Bog SSSI (218.26ha. Notified for blanket bog and valley mire).

Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what its role is in respect of the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme; what costs it has incurred in respect of the scheme; what payments have been made to it in respect of the scheme, and what its powers are with regard to the nomination of members to the scheme and direction in respect of payments.

Cathy Jamieson: The Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme (CICS) is a GB-wide scheme which is administered by the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA) and the Criminal Injuries Compensation Appeals Panel (CICAP). Scottish ministers and the Home Secretary have joint responsibility for the scheme but decisions on individual applications rest exclusively with the CICA and ministers cannot intervene in such decisions. Scottish adjudicators are appointed to the appeals panel by the Scottish ministers after consultation with the Home Secretary. The power to amend the scheme rests with the Home Secretary, who is obliged to consult the Scottish ministers before he exercises that function. By way of a service level agreement in place with the Home Office, the Scottish Executive bears a proportion of the costs in respect of Scottish cases, based on the total expenditure on Scottish cases over the previous three years expressed as a percentage of the total GB expenditure for the same period. Over the past few years this has fluctuated between 11-13%. In 2003-04 the Executive’s contribution was £25.8 million, consisting of £22.8 million compensation and £3 million administration.

Drug Misuse

Bruce Crawford (Mid Scotland and Fife) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what initiatives it intends to introduce to improve the waiting times for those wishing to access drug rehabilitation services in the Kirkcaldy area.

Hugh Henry: The Scottish Executive provide drugs specific resources to NHS boards and local authorities for the provision of drug treatment and care services. In Fife for 2004-05 the NHS board received £829,244 for drug treatment services and the local authority £464,000 for drug rehabilitation services per annum. On 27 October 2004, the Minister for Justice announced that an additional £6 million per annum will be available across Scotland to support drug treatment and rehabilitation services from 2005-06.

  Local drug action teams are responsible for the planning and delivery of drug treatment and care services in line with identified local need and in full collaboration with all partner agencies.

  The Scottish Executive does not intervene directly in local planning, delivery and decision making.

Education

Mr Brian Monteith (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what the spending stream "New educational developments" under the level 3 heading "Schools" in Draft Budget 2005-06 will be used for.

Peter Peacock: This funding of £17.7 million is allocated to the New Educational Developments Division within the Education Department. The principal activities of the division and the associated funding is as follows:

  School Improvement £1.2 million

  This funding allows the division to promote continuous improvement in education for school-age children through roll-out of the School Improvement Framework, including policy development and associated activity around the National Priorities in Education.

  Future Learning and Teaching £1.7 million

  This funding is to support forward-looking approaches to learning and teaching. It consists of a programme of individual projects allocated to schools, each of which is evaluated by a team of independent researchers.

  Schools ICT/SSDN £14.8 million

  This funding allows the division to take an overall strategic view of the use of ICT in schools and wider educational settings, including supporting the provision of Digital Content for schools, the Scottish Schools Digital Network and teaching approaches facilitated by the new technology.

Employment

Tommy Sheridan (Glasgow) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with the UK Government regarding employment and training opportunities for seafarers in Scotland.

Nicol Stephen: The Scottish Executive is in regular contact with the UK Government on a wide range of issues, including seafarer employment and training opportunities. Specific discussions have covered the Support for Maritime Training (SMarT) scheme, a Department for Transport initiative which provides support for the training of officers and ratings.

Employment

Tommy Sheridan (Glasgow) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive what information it has on what training and recruitment opportunities exist in the shipping industry in Scotland and how these will be increased.

Nicol Stephen: Schemes administered by the Department for Transport and relating to seafarer employment and training opportunities include the Support for Maritime Training Scheme (SMarT) which provides support for the training of officers and ratings. SMarT provided funding for 621 new officer cadets in 2003-04, an increase from 557 in the previous year. 45% of cadets receiving SMarT funding are from Scotland. The tonnage tax features a minimum training obligation which requires each shipping company entering the scheme to recruit and train one officer trainee each year for every 15 officer posts in its fleet, and to give consideration to employment and training opportunities for ratings.

  Caledonian MacBrayne Ltd, which is wholly owned by Scottish ministers, is committed to employee training and development to enable staff to contribute fully to the business and progress as far as possible within the organisation. The company also encourages employees to continue personal and professional training, for which financial assistance may be available. Caledonian MacBrayne has a core base of about 1,200 employees and recruits temporary workers as required on a seasonal basis.

Fuel Poverty

Richard Lochhead (North East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive which local authorities have dedicated officers working on (a) issues arising from the Home Energy Conservation Act 1985 and (b) fuel poverty.

Johann Lamont: I have asked Angiolina Foster, the Chief Executive of Communities Scotland to respond. Her response is as follows:

  The Second Home Energy Conservation Act (HECA) Progress Report, which covers the period April 1999 to March 2001, shows that eight local authorities have appointed a dedicated HECA Officer. Five local authorities, namely, Angus, Falkirk, Fife, Moray, and West Lothian, have dedicated fuel poverty officers. South Ayrshire is currently recruiting one.

Fuel Poverty

Richard Lochhead (North East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive which local authorities have not submitted their fuel poverty strategies to Communities Scotland for approval.

Malcolm Chisholm: I have asked Angiolina Foster, Chief Executive of Communities Scotland, to reply. Her response is as follows.

  The following local authorities have not submitted a fuel poverty strategy or any fuel poverty information for assessment by Communities Scotland:

  

Aberdeenshire


Dumfries and Galloway


East Ayrshire


Midlothian


North Ayrshire


Scottish Borders


Shetland Islands


South Lanarkshire


Western Isles



  These local authorities have been asked to prepare a fuel poverty strategy.

Further and Higher Education

Robert Brown (Glasgow) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-1390 by Mr Jim Wallace on 4 August 2003, what the outcome was of the review of funding of learners in further and higher education.

Mr Jim Wallace: The Review of Funding of Learners was published on the 22 September 2004. Copies of the Report are available in the Parliament’s Reference Centre and it is also available on the Funding of Learners Review website:

  http://www.scotland.gov.uk/about/ELLD/FoL/00017431/page677853067.aspx.

  The report presents the findings of the Review of Funding of Learners, the commitment to which was made in the Lifelong Learning Strategy for Scotland published by the Scottish Executive in February 2003. The review’s terms of reference focused on identifying gaps and anomalies in the provision of funding to post-16 individual learners and recommending changes that will improve the coherence, equity and effectiveness of overall provision. The review has covered further education student support, higher education student support, education maintenance allowances and individual learning accounts.

  The outputs of the review take the form of a series of action points, the timetables for which are phased from immediate (already undertaken in advance of academic year 2004-05) actions to those to be undertaken in the period through to 2006.

  Further to the answer given to question S2W-1390, Scottish ministers announced in May 2004 that the income threshold for the repayment of student loans would increase to £15,000 (from £10,000) from April 2005.

  All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

Health

Donald Gorrie (Central Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people it estimates have cirrhosis of the liver.

Mr Andy Kerr: Based on hospital discharge information, it is estimated that there were 3,565 people with a diagnosis of cirrhosis of the liver in Scotland in 2003.

Health

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what studies it is undertaking in order to reduce the rate of excess winter deaths to the levels achieved in Finland and Denmark, given that excess winter mortality in Scotland as a percentage increase over non-winter deaths is 16% in comparison with 10% in Finland and 12% in Denmark.

Mr Andy Kerr: No study in these specific terms is currently being undertaken. However, the Executive has commissioned a number of research projects to monitor and evaluate the central heating programme, including its impact on health.

  In the UK mortality increases in winter. International comparisons have shown that Scotland, like the rest of the United Kingdom, has relatively high levels of "excess winter mortality", even when compared with countries with more extreme winters. Excess Winter Mortality Index (EWMI) figures given by Curwen (1997) showed that "excess winter mortality" in the United Kingdom was approximately double that of Scandinavian and other Northern European countries. However, the EWMIs for the Irish Republic, Spain, Portugal, and Italy were comparable to, or higher than those for the countries of the UK.

Health and Safety Executive

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what role and powers it has in respect of the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and what protocols have been agreed between it and the HSE.

Allan Wilson: The Scottish Executive has no formal role or powers in respect of the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). The Health and Safety Commission(HSC) and Executive are non-departmental public bodies. The HSC is sponsored by the Department for Work and Pensions and is ultimately accountable to the Minister of State for Work, the Rt Hon Jane Kennedy MP. There is a concordat between the Health and Safety Executive and the Scottish Executive which is intended to provide the framework to guide the working relationship between them. A copy can be obtained from the HSE.

Identity Cards

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with the UK Government in respect of the issue of identity cards (ID cards); what input it has had, or will have, with regard to any proposed legislation on the issue, and whether the Scottish Parliament will be consulted on any such proposal.

Mr Tom McCabe: The Home Office have continued to keep the Scottish Executive fully informed about proposals for the introduction of identity cards. During the development of the policy and the drafting of the legislation, Executive officials have had a number of discussions with the Home Office to ensure that the proposed legislation could not, without the express approval of the Scottish Parliament, make it a requirement to use an ID card in order to access devolved services.

  Scottish ministers’ position remains that the ID card will not be required to allow access to devolved public services and the draft bill reflects that position.

Justice

Mr Brian Monteith (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people found in possession of Class C drugs in each of the last five years were only cautioned.

Cathy Jamieson: Police in Scotland do not operate a system of formal police cautions, as is the case in England and Wales. No record is held centrally on informal police cautions or warnings in Scotland.

Meat Industry

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has opposed, or will oppose, or express its opposition to Her Majesty’s Government regarding, any proposal by the European Union to increase the Hilton quotas for importation of beef from Brazil, Paraguay, Argentina and Uruguay from the existing levels.

Ross Finnie: Negotiations between Mercosur (the South American trading group) and the EU Commission are currently underway with a view to improving EU/Mercosur trade. The UK is actively involved in these discussions. The Executive has made it clear that increases in Hilton quotas for beef would be a concern.

NHS Complaints

Carolyn Leckie (Central Scotland) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answers to questions S2W-11164, S2W-11165, S2W-11166 and S2W-11167 by Mr Andy Kerr on 8 November 2004, whether it has received any specific complaints from staff, trade unions or others based at Glasgow Royal Infirmary regarding the Sodexho contract and, if so, what response it has made to any such complaints and what measures it has taken to investigate these and to initiate appropriate strategies to address any specific issues raised.

Mr Andy Kerr: One letter was received, from the member herself, dated 24 January 2002 to which a reply was sent on 21 March 2002. Otherwise we have not received any specific complaints referring to the Sodhexo contract.

NHS Hospitals

Colin Fox (Lothians) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many, and which, hospitals have closed in each year since 1997.

Mr Andy Kerr: The details are shown in the following table. Many of these hospitals were long-stay mental health and learning disability institutions, which closed because of the emphasis on provision of care in the community. Others were old buildings which were no longer fit for modern health care.

  

NHS Board Area
Hospital
Year Closed
Reason for Closure


Ayrshire and Arran
Ballochmyle
2000
Transfer of services. Patients transferred to new East Ayrshire Community Hospital and to Ayr Hospital.


Argyll and Clyde
Bridge of Weir
1999
Unfit for modern healthcare. Patients transferred to Larkfield Unit.


Elderslie
1999
Unfit for modern healthcare. Patients moved to 2 new bungalows, purpose built on site.


Borders
Dingleton
2000
As part of Mental Health Renewal Programme to modernise mental health services. Some patients transferred to social services care; some to smaller community facilities.


Dumfries and Galloway
Cresswell Maternity
2001
Replaced by new maternity unit at Dumfries and Galloway RI.


Forth Valley
Lochgreen
1997
Replaced by community based residential and nursing home provision.


Bellsdyke
1999
Replaced by community provision.


Royal Scottish National Hospital (RSNH)
2003
Replaced by community provision.


Greater Glasgow
Knightswood
1998
Replaced by social care in nursing homes.


Ruchill
1998
Replaced by new ID facility at Gartnavel.


Rutherglen Maternity
1998
Replaced by new Princess Royal Maternity Hospital and new maternity facilities in Lanarkshire.


Woodilee
2000
Replaced by new facilities for mental health at Stobhill and Gartnavel and community care purchased in nursing homes.


Cowglen
2002
Replaced by social care in nursing homes.


Lennox Castle
2002
Replaced by community provision, including supported tenancies.


Grampian
Morningfield
1998
Outdated hospital not suitable for upgrading. Patients transferred to care homes and Woodend Hospital.


Tor-Na-Dee
2002
Patients transferred to other convalescent facilities and to rehabilitation services.


Ladysbridge
2003
Implementation of Learning Disability Strategy and numbers gradually decreasing. Patients transferred to community care and Cornhill Hospital.


Woodlands
2003
Implementation of Learning Disability Strategy and numbers gradually decreasing. Patients transferred to community care and Cornhill Hospital.


Highland
Craig Dunain
2000
Replaced by New Craigs hospital.


Craig Phadraig
2000
Replaced by New Craigs hospital.


Gesto
2002
Patients transferred to Portree Hospital. 


Lanarkshire
Bellshill Maternity
2001
Unfit for modern healthcare. Patients transferred to new Wishaw General Hospital.


Law
2001
Unfit for modern healthcare. Patients transferred to new Wishaw General Hospital.


Birkwood
2002
As part of Strategy for Learning Disability "The Same As You". Patients moved into the community. 


Alexander
2003
Still open as day care centre (no overnight beds).


Lothian
Southfield
1999
Old building – moving towards community based service. Patients transferred to new build at Ellen's Glen; remainder to support in own homes and nursing home. 


Gogarburn
1999
Replaced by community provision.


St Joseph's
1999
Replaced by community provision.


Tippethill
2000
Reprovided on same site.


City
2002
Result of acute services review. Some patients transferred to Western General Hospital, others to new RIE.


Princess Margaret Rose
2002
Result of acute services review. Service reprovided at new RIE.


Bangour Village
2003
Old building. Patients transferred to nursing homes; others to new build in joint venture with West Lothian Council.


Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh
2003
Result of acute services review. Service reprovided on major new site at Little France.


Orkney
Eastbank
2000
Replaced with care home places, and some provision in Balfour Hospital.


Tayside
Hillside
1997
Developing community based services.


Dundee Royal Infirmary
1998
Reconfiguration of services. Service reprovided at Ninewells.


Meigle Community
1999
Inadequate support services to safely maintain day case treatments. Increased service provided from Blairgowrie Cottage Hospital.


Dundee Limb Fitting Centre
2000
Reconfiguration of services. Service reprovided at Ninewells.


King's Cross
2001
Reconfiguration and modernising acute services. Service reprovided at Ninewells.


Windyridge
2002
Reconfiguration of services. Patients transferred to purpose built Glenlaw House on King's Cross Hospital site.


Whitehills
2004
Developing community based service.


Western Isles
Daliburgh
2001
Unfit for modern healthcare. Some patients transferred to new Southern Isles hospital; others to nursing home.


Lochmaddy
2001
Unfit for modern healthcare. Some patients transferred to new Southern Isles hospital; others to nursing home.

NHS Staff

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many paediatric nurses have been recruited in each of the last three years and what the latest figures are in respect of vacancies for such nurses.

Mr Andy Kerr: Whilst this information is not collected centrally, information on joiners can be gauged through annual censuses of the nursing and midwifery workforce, at 30 September, to establish annual flows of staff in and out of NHSScotland.

  The following table shows the number of registered nurses working in paediatrics who joined NHSScotland between the September 2000 and September 2001 censuses, the September 2001 and September 2002 censuses and the September 2002 and September 2003 censuses.

  Joiners to NHSScotland - Registered Nurses working in Paediatrics

  

 
Joiners


Joiners between September 2000 and September 2001
163


Joiners between September 2001 and September 2002
191


Joiners between September 2002 and September 2003
223



  Source: National Manpower Statistics from Payroll.

  At 31 March 2004, there were 47.4 whole time equivalent vacancies in paediatrics in NHSScotland. The vacancy rate, expressed as a percentage of the establishment, is 2.9%.

NHS Staff

Carolyn Leckie (Central Scotland) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many paediatric gastroenterologists there are and at which hospitals they are based.

Mr Andy Kerr: Staff in post numbers in NHS Scotland is published on the Scottish Health Statistics website under Workforce Statistics, at www.isdscotland.org/workforce . Details on paediatric consultants and gastroenterologists are given in tables B6 and B7 of section B. It is not possible to identify which of these are paediatric gastroenterologists. Latest available figures are at 30 September 2003.

Prison Service

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the total estimated cost will be for the construction of proposed new prisons, broken down into (a) construction costs and (b) annual payments.

Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:

  An estimate of the cost of the proposed new prisons was published in the Financial Review of the Scottish Prison Service Estates Review, copies of which are available in the Scottish Parliament’s Information Centre (Bib. number 20290).

Prison Service

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) male and (b) female convicted prisoners there were in each year since 1997.

Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:

  The available information is in Statistical Bulletin No CrJ/2004/6: Prison Statistics Scotland, 2003 published in August 2004 (ISBN 0 7559 3785 6), tables 1, 2, 12A and 12B and in previous editions of the bulletin.

Prison Service

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the total estimated annual cost was of imprisonment in each year since 1997.

Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) to respond. His response is as follows:

  The total annual cost of imprisonment is recorded in SPS's Annual Report and Accounts for each financial year, copies of which are in the Parliaments Reference Centre (Bib. numbers 34446, 4045, 7929, 18239, 22587, 28640).

Prison Service

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the estimated annual cost was of keeping a person in prison in each year since 1997.

Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) to respond. His response is as follows:

  The average annual cost per prisoner place is recorded in SPS's Annual Report and Accounts for each financial year, copies of which are in the Parliaments Reference Centre (Bib. references, 34446, 4045, 7929, 18239, 22587, 28640).

Renewable Energy

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what biofuel initiatives it is involved in, broken down by project and detailing (a) cost, (b) funding arrangements, (c) anticipated outputs and (d) project timescales.

Nicol Stephen: The Scottish Executive has provided support to the production of biodiesel in Scotland by awarding a Regional Selective Assistance grant of £1.2 million to Argent Energy, which is building the nation’s first large scale biodiesel plant at its Scottish base near Newarthill, Motherwell. The grant will be payable in three instalments.

  The plant, which is expected to be functional early in the new year, will produce around 50,000 litres of biodiesel per annum when operating at full productivity levels. The site will also be equipped with an electrical generator fuelled by waste product which is expected to generate between 2.75 and 3 megawatt of electricity per year. The electricity produced will be sold to the National Grid.

Renewable Energy

Richard Lochhead (North East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how much research and development funding has been spent on renewable energy in each year since 1999, expressed also as a percentage of the total funding allocated for research and development.

Mr Jim Wallace: Direct Research and Development funding for renewables projects is carried out at UK level by Westminster and the budget is held by the Department of Trade and Industry. There are no published figures for the uptake of its various research and development funding schemes in Scotland.

  The Scottish Executive is also targeting investment at the development of emerging technologies. Our contribution of £2.125 million towards the capital cost of developing the European Marine Energy Centre in Orkney will enable great strides to be made in developing nascent marine technology. We are also investing, through Scottish Enterprise, £150 million over 10 years in the Energy Intermediary Technology Institute in Aberdeen, which will focus on research and development for emerging and innovative technologies.

Renewable Energy

Richard Lochhead (North East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what financial and other incentives are available to encourage and support the development of hydrogen fuel cell technology.

Mr Jim Wallace: Scottish Enterprise has recently made available £150 million to the Energy Intermediary Technology Institute, to encourage and support the development of emerging technologies, including hydrogen fuel technology.

  The Forum for Renewable Energy Development in Scotland (FREDS) is assessing the current status of hydrogen and fuel cell technologies within Scotland, and will identify opportunities for Scotland within the supply chain for these technologies. Their findings will be published in Spring 2005.

Roads

Bruce Crawford (Mid Scotland and Fife) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it will have with Stirling Council regarding the condition of local roads.

Nicol Stephen: We have no current plans to meet Stirling Council to discuss local roads issues.

Roads

Bruce Crawford (Mid Scotland and Fife) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide additional resources to Stirling Council to improve the condition of local roads.

Nicol Stephen: An additional £60 million per year has been allocated in 2006-07 and 2007-08 to help local authorities address the backlog of maintenance on the local road network. Allocations to individual authorities will be announced in due course.

Roads

Bruce Crawford (Mid Scotland and Fife) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will re-examine the way in which GAE for local roads is calculated to ensure that it is carried out on the basis of needs.

Nicol Stephen: The local government grant distribution methodology has been agreed following extensive and collective consultation over a number of years with local authorities, through COSLA and takes account of a wide range of complex factors influencing local authority spend to ensure a fair distribution of grant. These factors include population, pupil numbers, road lane lengths and indicators of rurality and deprivation. COSLA has not requested any re-examination of the GAE calculation for local roads and in these circumstances the Executive has no current plans to review the funding formula.

Scottish Water

Mr Mark Ruskell (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive who were invited to its consultation seminars regarding the proposed Quality and Standards III investment programme for Scottish Water.

Lewis Macdonald: A series of three seminars were organised and hosted by Water Customer Consultation Panels and the Scottish Executive to discuss the issues contained in the Investing in Water Services 2006-2014 consultation. These took place in Edinburgh, Inverness and Glasgow. A wide range of stakeholders were invited and these are listed below:

  

Aberdeen City Council 
Dundee Chamber of Commerce


Aberdeenshire Council 
Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce


Angus Council
Federation of Master Builders


Argyll and Bute Council
Federation of Small Businesses 


Scottish Borders Council
Fife Chamber of Commerce


Clackmannanshire Council
Forth Valley Chamber of Commerce 


Dumfries and Galloway Council
Friends of the Earth 


Dundee City Council
Glasgow and Clyde Valley Structure Plan Authority


East Ayrshire Council
Glasgow Chamber of Commerce


East Dunbartonshire Council
Glasgow housing association


East Lothian Council
Graham and Sibbald


East Renfrewshire Council
Highlands and Islands Enterprise


Edinburgh City Council
Highlands and Islands Partnership Programme


Falkirk Council
Homes for Scotland


Fife Council
Initiative on the Edge


Glasgow City Council
Inverness Chamber of Commerce


Highland Council
Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park


Inverclyde Council
McGregor Donald Sols


Midlothian Council
Moray Chamber of Commerce


Moray Council 
Moray Firth Partnership


North Ayrshire Council
Orkney Housing Association


North Lanarkshire Council
Renfrewshire chamber of commerce


Orkney Council 
Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland


Perth and Kinross Council
Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors


Renfrewshire Council
Royal Town Planning Institute


Shetland Council 
Scottish Building


South Ayrshire Council
Scottish Council for Development and Industry


South Lanarkshire Council
Scottish Centre for Information and Environmental Health 


Stirling Council
Scottish Council of Voluntary Organisations


West Dunbartonshire Council
Scottish Enterprise Ayrshire


West Lothian Council
Scottish Enterprise Borders


Western Isles Council
Scottish Enterprise Dunbartonshire


 
Scottish Enterprise Edinburgh and Lothians


Ayrshire Chamber of Commerce
Scottish Enterprise Fife


British Gas
Scottish Enterprise Forth Valley


Burness Solicitors
Scottish Enterprise Glasgow


Cairngorms National Park Authority
Scottish Enterprise Grampian


Caledonian Paper
Scottish Enterprise Lanarkshire


Chemical Industries Association
Scottish Enterprise Renfrewshire


Civil Engineering Contractors Association
Scottish Enterprise Tayside


Communities Scotland
Scottish Federation of Housing Associations


Confederation of Business and Industry
Scottish Natural Heritage


Confederation of Paper Industries
Scottish Power


Construction Industry Forum
Scottish Rural Property and Business Association
(formerly Scottish Landowners Federation)


Director of Public Health Argyll and Clyde 
SEPA


Director of Public Health Borders
Scottish Society of Directors and Planners


Director of Public Health Fife
Shepherd and Wedderburn


Director of Public Health Forth Valley
Tulloch Group (Housebuilders) }


Director of Public Health Glasgow 
Transco


Director of Public Health Highland 
Water Customer Consultation Panel members


Director of Public Health Shetland 
World Wildlife Fund

Sewel Motions

Scott Barrie (Dunfermline West) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what Sewel motions it will lodge in the Parliament in connection with the legislative programme of the UK Government that is announced today in the Queen’s Speech.

Ms Margaret Curran: Under the Sewel Convention, the UK Government does not normally legislate with regard to devolved matters in Scotland without the consent of the Scottish Parliament. This is an important part of the devolution settlement, signifying respect for the role of the Scottish Parliament.

  Within the context of this Convention, the Executive recommends that the Scottish Parliament should consent to legislation at Westminster only when this would deliver clear benefits for Scotland. I am pleased that we have been able to identify and agree specific opportunities for several of the bills within the UK Government’s new legislative programme to make beneficial provision for Scotland, on matters that are within the legislative competence of the Scottish Parliament and on matters which relate to the executive competence of the Scottish ministers.

  In accordance with the Sewel Convention and the procedural undertakings that have been given, we will present the Parliament with a motion and detailed explanatory memorandum in relation to each of those Bills as soon as possible after they are introduced at Westminster, in order to maximise the scope for scrutiny and debate. The bills are:

  the Animal Welfare Bill – to ensure that people who are banned from keeping animals in England and Wales, following conviction for cruelty to animals there, continue also to be banned from keeping animals in Scotland.

  the Constitutional Reform Bill – to create a UK-wide Supreme Court, establishing a clear and transparent separation between the judiciary and the legislature.

  the Disability Discrimination Bill – to put Scotland on the same footing as the rest of the UK on new public sector duty to promote equality of opportunity for disabled people.

  the European Union Bill – to ensure that the devolution settlement is taken into account in legislation to enable the ratification and implementation in UK law of the EU Constitutional Treaty and to allow a referendum on the Treaty to take place.

  the Gambling Bill – to modernise powers for Scottish ministers to regulate gambling in Scotland.

  the Inquiries Bill – to modernise the law for the conduct of inquiries into matters of public concern.

  the International Organisations (Immunities and Privileges) Bill – to ensure that the devolution settlement is taken into account in legislation that secures the position of specified international organisations.

  the National Lottery Bill – to provide power for Scottish ministers to issue directions to the Big Lottery Fund and allow a Scottish Committee to exercise all the functions of the Fund in relation to devolved expenditure.

  the Railways Bill – to provide greater responsibility for rail within Scotland to the Scottish ministers, including an extended role with regard to infrastructure.

  the Serious Organised Crime and Police Bill – to strengthen the fight against serious organised crime with the creation of a new UK-wide agency and other measures.

  Legislating in this way has a number of benefits for Scotland. For bills (like the Inquiries Bill and the Serious Organised Crime and Police Bill) that include provisions on matters that are within the legislative competence of the Scottish Parliament, it enables useful provision to be made in areas of mutual interest without delay or disruption to our own legislative programme. For Bills (like the Gambling Bill and Railways Bill) that include provisions that relate to the executive competence of the Scottish ministers, it enables powers and functions to be exercised by the Scottish ministers rather than UK Ministers.

  In order to maximise this potential, we will maintain our dialogue with the UK Government over the coming weeks and months to see whether further opportunities can be identified. If that proves to be the case, we will bring them to the attention of the Parliament as soon as possible.

Supporting People

Sarah Boyack (Edinburgh Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what representations have been received from the City of Edinburgh Council regarding its allocation of funding under the Supporting People initiative and the impact that the allocation will have on its ability to deliver core support services to vulnerable members of its community.

Malcolm Chisholm: We have received representations from COSLA, local authorities including Edinburgh, providers, stakeholders and a range of other organisations and individuals.

  I have met with COSLA on several occasions and listened to their concerns about the allocations announced on 1 October. I have offered to slow down the rate of redistribution to provide greater protection for those councils most affected. I hope to make a new announcement shortly.

Supporting People

Sarah Boyack (Edinburgh Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is aware that the proposed reduction in Supporting People funding for the City of Edinburgh Council may jeopardise the council’s ability to maintain its rough sleeper initiative and therefore the Executive’s commitment that no one should need to sleep rough.

Malcolm Chisholm: We are very conscious that the City of Edinburgh Council and providers have concerns about the allocations announced. I have met with COSLA on several occasions to discuss their concerns and have offered to slow down the rate of redistribution with the aim of ensuring that the pace of change and redistribution is manageable locally.

  A new announcement on Supporting People allocations is expected shortly.

Supporting People

Sarah Boyack (Edinburgh Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is aware that the proposed reduction in Supporting People funding to the City of Edinburgh Council may have jeopardised a project that was designed to relieve delayed discharge.

Malcolm Chisholm: We are very conscious that the City of Edinburgh Council and providers have concerns about the allocations announced. I have met with COSLA on several occasions to discuss their concerns and have offered to slow down the rate of redistribution with the aim of ensuring that the pace of change and redistribution is manageable locally.

  A new announcement on Supporting People allocations is expected shortly.

Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body

Public Transport

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body whether it will publish the financial models developed by Grant Thornton in respect of the preliminary financial cases for the Edinburgh Tram Bills.

George Reid: In September 2004, the Edinburgh Tram (Line One) Bill and Edinburgh Tram (Line Two) Bill Committees commissioned ArupScotland to conduct independent reviews of the updated Preliminary Financial Cases for both Edinburgh Tram Bills.

  As part of these reviews, ArupScotland reviewed a number of documents, including the financial models developed by Grant Thornton that are referred to in the updated Preliminary Financial Cases.

  The updated Preliminary Financial Case and the ArupScotland review for both Bills are available on the respective committees’ webpages and Parliament partner libraries.

  It is understood that the financial models developed by Grant Thornton will be available on the Transport Initiatives Edinburgh website in the course of the week commencing 22 November 2004.